Method of weaving pile fabrics



July 23, 1957 F. P. GROAT METHOD OF WE'AVING FILE FABRICS Filed Jan. 19, 1954 kiln f R ma mm V 6 P ,5 L C] n a n HTTORNEY.

METHOD OF WEAVING PILE FABRICS Francis P. Groat, Bloomsburg, Pa., assignor to The Magee Carpet Company, Bloomsburg, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application January 19, 1954, Serial No. 404,873

8 Claims. (Cl. 139-39) This invention relates to a method of weaving pile fabrics on a wire loom and is an improvement on the method disposed in my prior Patent No. 2,573,841 issued November 6, 1951.

In my prior patent I disclosed a method of inserting in a fabric a series of knob and shaped pile wires in alternation and then successively withdrawing the wires to form rows of loops of varying heights and intermediate rows of low loops of uniform height. The knob wires employed in carrying'out the method had the knob portion of the wire of a height corresponding to the height of the high portions of the shaped wires and in practice it was found that while the pile loops varied in height the variation was not as marked as desired to accentuate the texture of the design. It is an object of the present method to make a pile fabric having a greater variation in the height of the loops and particularly with respect to the high loops in the rows of high and low loops and the low loops of intermediate rows, to accentuate the texture of the design.

A further object of the invention resides in a method of making loop pile fabrics employing a series of knob and shaped wires inserted in the fabric in alternation, the knob portion of the knob wires being of greater height than the high portions of the shaped Wires, so that when the wires are successively withdrawn they will form alternate rows of loops, each row having high and low loops of varying height with the high loops corresponding to the height of the knob portion of the knob wires and intermediate rows of low loops having a height less than the height of the low loops in the alternate rows of loops.

Another object of the invention resides in providing the rows of loops of varying heights with relative high loops which may be sheared to provide tufts without shearing the loops of lower height in the rows.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a fabric being woven in accordance with my method,

Fig. 2 is a warpwise section of the fabric with the wires woven in the fabric, and

Fig. 3 is a warpwise section of the fabric after withdrawal of the pile wires.

Referring to the drawing, 1 have shown a series of knob wires 5 and shaped wires 6 inserted in the fabric being woven, in alternation. The knob wires 5 having a straight loop forming shank 7 with a raised knob portion 8 at the end of the shank. The shaped wires are of irregular shape having high and low loop forming portions 9 and 10 connected by inclined loop forming portions 11.

The high portions of each wire 6 may be in warpwise alinement with the low portions of the next adjacent shaped wire or may be out of alinement depending on the pattern of the fabric being woven. The shank 7 of the knob wire 5 has a height of .130 while the knob nited States Patent portion 8 has a height of .500". The leading edge of the raised portion 8 is inclined downwardly, as at 12, towards the shank 7 so as to allow the loops formed on the shank to ride up and over the raised portion when the wire is withdrawn. The high portions 9 of the shaped wires 6 have a height of .437" while the low portions 10 have a height of .185. These dimensions have been found satisfactoryin practice but may be varied as long as the knob portion of the knob wires has a height greater than the height of the high portions of the shaped wires and the low portions of the shaped wires have a height greater than the height of the shank of the knob wire.

In Fig. l the knob wires 5 and shaped wires 6 are shown inserted in the fabric being woven, the backing being constructed of stuffer warps 13 and an upper and lower series of weft threads 14 and 15, lying, respectively, above and below the stuifer warps and bound in place by crossed binding warps 16 and 17. A single frame of pile warps 18 extend along the fabric in the body thereof between the stutfer warps and upper series of weft threads. During the weaving the pile warps are raised to form a shed for inserting a wire and then the warps are looped over the wire by lowering the pile warps to pass under the next upper weft thread. The pile warps raised over the shank of the knob wires 5 will form rows of loops 19 of a uniform height, while the warps raised over the shaped wires 6 form rows of loops of varying heights. As shown in Fig. 1 the high loops 20 on the shaped wires are opposite the low loops 21 of the next adjacent shaped wire. When a predetermined number of wires according to the pattern have been woven into the fabric, the wires are successively withdrawn and re-inserted in the shed formed immediately following the last wire in a series. Upon removal of knob wire 5, the loops formed on the shank will be raised by the raised portion 8 to form a row of loops corresponding to the height of the raised portion. When a shaped wire 6 is withdrawn, the low loops and loops on the inclined portions are raised thus pulling the warps of these loops to reduce the height of the loops of the same warps in the preceding row of loops to form a row of high and low loops with intervening loops of varying heights, the high loops 22, Fig; 3, corresponding to the height of the knob portion of wire 5 while the low loops 23 correspond to theheight of the low portions 10 of wires 6. When the next knob wire 5 is withdrawn all the loops thereon are raised to the height of the knob portion 8 which pulls all the warps to, reduce all the loops 24 in the preceding row to a height less than the height of the low portions 10 of wires 6. As the withdrawal of the wires continues in the sequence disclosed the fabric produced will have weftwise rows of loops of unequal or varyingheights with intermediate rows of low loops of substantially the same height. I The high loops in the rows of loops of varying heights will be higher than the high portions of the shaped wires while the low loops in the intermediate rows will be lower than the low portions of the shaped wires, thus providing a wide variation between the heights of the loops which accentuates the texture of the design ofthe fabric. Also by providing very high loops in the rows of high and low loops, the high loops may be sheared by passing the fabric through a shearing machine to provide tufts without shearing thelower loops thus providing a combination of tufts and loops in a single weftwise row.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: I p j 1. The method of weaving on a wire loom a pile fabric floor covering havinga warp pile face including high and low loops which comprises inserting a pile wire having a low straight portion and a high raised portion at its end, weaving pile warps over said straight portion of said wire to form low loops, inserting a second pile wire having high and low portions, the high port ions being of less height than the raised portion of said. first wire, weaving pile warps over the high and low portions of said second wire to form high and low loops, inserting a third wire corresponding to said first wire, weaving said pile warps over said third wire. to form low l-oops, withdrawing said first wire to form a row of high loops corresponding in height to the height of the raised portion of said wire, withdrawing said second wire to form a row of high loops of less height than said first row of loops and simultaneously reducing the height of some of the loops in said first row to form a row of high and low loops and then withdrawing said third wire to raise the loops thereon and simultaneously reduce the height of all the loops in said second row to a height less than the height of the low loops inv said first row.

2. The method of weaving on a wire loom a pile fabric floor covering having a warp pile face including high and low loops which comprises inserting a pile wire having a low straight portion and a high raised portion at its end, weaving pile warps over the straight portion of said wire to form a row of low loops, inserting a second pile wire having high and low portions, the high portions being of less height than the raised portion of said first wire, weaving pile warps over the high and low portions of said second wire to form a row of high and low loops, inserting a third pile wire corresponding to said first wire, weaving pile warps over said third wire to form a second row of low loops, converting the low loops of said first row to high loops by withdrawing said wire, converting the loops of said second row to high loops of less height than said first row of loops by withdrawing said second wire whereby the loops of said first row in pile warps woven over the low portions of said second wire are reduced in height and converting the low loops of said third row to high loops by withdrawing said third wire whereby the high loops of said second row are reduced to a height less than the height of the low loops in said first row.

3. The method of weaving on a pile Wire loom a pile fabric floor covering having a warp pile face comprising high and low pile loops which comprises weaving pile warps over a series of pile wires to form weftwise rows of loops with alternate. rows having loops of uniform height and intermediate rows having loops of varying height, withdrawing a pile wire and raising the loops of an alternate row to a height greater than the high loops of the intermediate rows, then withdrawing a pile wire and raising the low loops of the following intermediate row to form a row of high loops and reduce the height of those loops in the preceding alternate row of the same pile warps as the low loops, and then withdrawing a pile wire and raising the loops of the next succeeding alternate row and reduce the height of the loops in the preceding intermediate row to a height less than the height of the low loops in the preceding intermediate row.

4. The method of weaving on a pile wire loom a pile fabric floor covering having a warp pile face comprising high and low loops which comprises weaving pile warps over a series of pile wires to form alternate weftwise rows of low loops and intermediate rows of loops of varying height, successively withdrawing the pile wires and raising the loops of alternate rows to a height higher than the high loops of intermediate rows and the low loops of. intermediate rows to a height corresponding to the high loops in said'rows whereby the alternate rows of loops are converted into high and low loops and the intermediate rows of loops into rows of low loops of less height than the low loops of the alternate rows.

5. The method of weaving on a wire loom a pile fabric having a warp pile face comprising high and low loops which comprises inserting a pile wire having a straight portion and a high portion at its end, weaving pile warps over the straight portion of said wire to form a row of loops of uniform height, inserting a second pile wire having high and low portions, the high portions being of less height than the high portion of said first wire, weaving pile warps over the high and low portions of said second wire to form a row of high and low loops, inserting a third wire having a straight portion and high portion at its end of greater height than the high portions of said second wire, weaving pile warps over the straight portion of said third wire to form a row of low loops of uniform height, withdrawing said first wire to convert the row of low loops to high loops, withdrawing said second wire to convert the low loops in said second row to high loops and reduce the height of loops of the same pile warps in the first row, and withdrawing said third wire to convert the low loops to high loops and reduce the height of the loops in said second row to a height less than the height of the height of the low loops in the first row.

6. The method of weaving on a wire loom a pile fabric having a warp pile face comprising high and low loops which comprises inserting a series of wires having high and low loop forming portions in alternation with wires having a straight loop forming portion and loop raising portion at the end of greater height than the high portions of said first-mentioned wires, weaving pile warps over said wires to form alternate weftwise rows of loops of uniform height and intermediate rows of high and low loops and successively withdrawing said wires to raise the loops in alternate. rows to a height greater than the high loops of intermediate rows and raise the low loops in intermediate rows to the height of the high loops and reduce the loops of the same warps in a preceding alternate row whereby the alternate rows of loops are converted to rows of high and low loops and the intermediate rows of loops to rows of low loops of less height than the low loops in the converted alternate rows of loops.

7. The method of weaving on a pile wire loom a pile fabric floor covering having a warp pile face comprising high and low pile loops which comprises weaving pile warps over pile wires to form alternate weftwise rows of loops of uniform height and intermediate weftwise rows of loops of varying height, successively withdrawing the pile wires and. raising the height of loops in alternate rows to a height greater than the height of the high loops in intermediate rows whereby the height of loops in a preceding intermediate row are reduced and raising the height of low loops in intermediate rows whereby the loops of the same pile warps in a preceding alternate row are reduced in height thus converting the loops in alternate rows to loops of varying height.

8. The method of weaving on a pile wire loom a pile fabric floor covering having a warp pile face comprising high and low loops which comprises weaving pile warps over a series of pile wires to form rows of loops of uniform height and rows of loops of varying height in alternation, successively withdrawing the pile wires and raising the height of the rows of loops of uniform height to a height greater than the height of the highest loops in the rows of loops of varying height and raising the height of the low loops in the rows of loops of varying height to a height corresponding to the height of the highest loops whereby the loops in the rows of loops of uniform height are converted into rows of loops of varying height and the rows of loops of varying height are converted'into rows of loops of uniform height, the high loops in. the converted rows of loops of uniform height having a greater height than the high loops in the first formed rows of loops of varying height.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent 7 2,731,985 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,765,001 2,516,465 Jackson July 25, 1950 2,573,841 Groat Nov. 6, 1951 5 505,372 2,650,621 Crawford Sept. 1, 1953 6 Hoeselbarth Ian. 24, 1956 Hoeselbarth Oct. 2, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS Belgium Sept. 15, 1951 

